The
Executive Director of the United Nations Iraq Programme, Benon V. Sevan, is
scheduled to undertake a working visit to Iraq, starting on 14 January 2002, to
review, together with relevant authorities, the United Nations Humanitarian
Coordinator in Iraq, Tun Myat, and representatives of the United Nations
agencies and programmes, the implementation of the United Nations oil-for-food
programme.Mr. Sevan’s last visit
to Iraq was in August 2000.

In a letter dated 7 January 2002, addressed
to the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established by resolution 661
(1990), the Executive Director of the Iraq Programme expressed grave concern at
the unprecedented surge in the volume of holds placed on contracts by the
Committee, with the total value reaching just under $5 billion ($4.956 billion).The “holds” covered 1,854 contracts for the purchase of various
humanitarian supplies and equipment, including 1,265 contracts, worth $4.28
billion, for humanitarian supplies and 589 contracts, worth $676 million, for
oil industry equipment.

There were 206 contracts, worth$353 million, in the “inactive holds” category, for which the
suppliers had not provided the requested additional technical information in
excess of 60 days.In the category
of “active holds” there were 334 contracts, worth $942 million, for which
although the suppliers had provided the requested information, the holding
Committee member(s) had not made a final decision in excess of 60 days.During the week ending on 4 January 2002, the Committee released from
hold 14 contracts, worth $40.9 million, while placing on hold 63 new contracts,
worth $229 million.

Under
the United Nations oil-for-food programme, Iraq exported a total of 38.3 million
barrels of oil in the period 15 December 2001 and 4 January 2002, including 9.7
million barrels in the week 15 – 21 December, 13.1 million barrels in the week
22 – 28 December and, 15.5 million barrels in the week 29 December 2001 - 4
January 2002.

These
exports were completed through 25 loadings from the two authorized loading
terminals of Mina al-Bakr and Ceyhan, of which 12 took place at Mina al-Bakr,
with 20 million barrels of oil, and 13 loadings at Ceyhan, with 18.3 million
barrels.The average price of Iraqi
crude oil, during the week ending on 4 January 2002, was approximately €19.60
(euros) or $17.70 per barrel.

Since the start of current phase XI of the
programme on 1 December 2001, some €876 million or $788 million in estimated
revenue has been generated from the export of 50.7 million barrels of oil, based
on current prices and rate of exchange.There
are now 71 oil purchase contracts approved by the United Nations oil overseers
for the current phase, covering 180.8 million barrels of oil, of which 106.1
million barrels are for Basrah Light and 74.7 million barrels for Kirkuk crude.Phase XI ends on 29 May 2002.

Iraqi oil exports
have earned an estimated $38.6 billion and €13.5 billion ($11.8
billion) in revenue from the sale of over 2.85
billion barrels of oil since the beginning of the programme on 10 December 1996.With the adoption of Security
Council resolution 1330 (2000) on 5 December 2000, 72 per cent of the oil
proceeds fund the humanitarian programme in Iraq, 59 per cent of which is for
the 15 central and southern governorates and 13 per cent for the three northern
governorates.

During the same period, some $30.9 billion
worth of contracts for humanitarian supplies and equipment have been both
approved by the 661 Committee and “fast-tracked” by the Office of the Iraq
Programme (OIP), including $2.7 billion worth of contracts for oil industry
spare parts and equipment.To date,
humanitarian supplies and equipment worth $18.3 billion have been delivered to
Iraq, including $1.1 billion worth of oil industry equipment, while another
$10.9 billion worth of humanitarian supplies and $1.7 billion worth of oil
industry equipment are in the production and delivery pipeline.

At the end of the reporting period, about $1.7
billion and €461 million in unused funds were available in the United Nations
Iraq Account for the issuance of additional letters of credit for the purchase
of humanitarian supplies and oil spare parts and equipment by the Government of
Iraq.